Andre Ly gives Omaha their first Sawyer award since 2025.(48.1)
Posted: Mon Aug 16, 2021 10:30 am
Despite having almost half of the first place votes as fellow Frick League player Dong-Po Thum, Andre Ly was chosen by league GM’s as the Frick League Sawyer Silk Slugger award winner. Thanks to the weighted voting system, Ly snuck by with 16 second place votes, compared to just 4 for Thum.
This is the first Sawyer award for the Niles front office, despite Emilio Morales and others being on the roster all these years. This is the first award for the team since Newman Watson in 2025.
While Thum was a deserving candidate, Ly had a masterful year both at the plate with a bat in his hands and in the field with his glove. In right field, his +9 ZR has become and expected thing each season, as has his eff rating being over 1.0. Despite the field work, he did not win the diamond glove in right field.
Ly however did win the golden bat award thanks to his 179 OPS+ this season and 184 wRC+. Those numbers came out to a .329/.441/.618 triple slash line that had 33 home runs and 38 stolen bases sitting inside. Ly also walked a career high 91 times, accumulating a total WAR of 7.8 in 453 at bats.
Ly has been primarily used only against right-handed pitching, as he had just 57 at bats against lefties last year. His output backs up the reasoning as he hit just .211/.338/.566 in those 57 at bats compared to .346/.455/.674 against right-handed pitching.
Omaha picked up Ly’s $14,000,000 team option for 2048 and now the 27-year-old is playing out the final year of his deal. It’s expected that Omaha will attempt to resign Ly at some point during the upcoming season.
This is the first Sawyer award for the Niles front office, despite Emilio Morales and others being on the roster all these years. This is the first award for the team since Newman Watson in 2025.
While Thum was a deserving candidate, Ly had a masterful year both at the plate with a bat in his hands and in the field with his glove. In right field, his +9 ZR has become and expected thing each season, as has his eff rating being over 1.0. Despite the field work, he did not win the diamond glove in right field.
Ly however did win the golden bat award thanks to his 179 OPS+ this season and 184 wRC+. Those numbers came out to a .329/.441/.618 triple slash line that had 33 home runs and 38 stolen bases sitting inside. Ly also walked a career high 91 times, accumulating a total WAR of 7.8 in 453 at bats.
Ly has been primarily used only against right-handed pitching, as he had just 57 at bats against lefties last year. His output backs up the reasoning as he hit just .211/.338/.566 in those 57 at bats compared to .346/.455/.674 against right-handed pitching.
Omaha picked up Ly’s $14,000,000 team option for 2048 and now the 27-year-old is playing out the final year of his deal. It’s expected that Omaha will attempt to resign Ly at some point during the upcoming season.